“Well for me, when setting about writing this year’s panto, my first issue was that, traditionally, Jack and the Beanstalk is usually very male-heavy in terms of casting: Dame, Jack, his brother, the baddie, the baddie’s sidekick,”

Jonathan Holt, last year’s Prince Rupert Charming Darling will be starring in macrobert’s panto Jackie and the Beanstalk this year as the baddy! We asked Jonathan to tell us a bit about himself, so have a read and you will see he really isn’t a baddy at heart…

First theatre stage you stood on? His Majesty Theatre, Aberdeen.Last stage you stood on before the pantomime? The Traverse, Edinburgh.

First childhood memory? Two massive hands!

Best moment on stage? First standing ovation.

Most funny thing that’s happened to you on stage? Corpsing in a serious scene.

Last form you filled out? Tax return.

First job? Mace, shelf stocker.
First thing you think about each day? My bed.

First thing you do each morning? Get out of bed.

Last song you listened to? Alive, Pearl Jam.

First show you fell in love with? Les Miserables, I was 10.

First big disappointment? Les Miserables, it wasn’t the original cast.

iRIDE has been going for a while at macrobert, and we have some good movies heading towards Stirling in the next months. The first one will be at macrobert’s filmhouse this Wednesday 19 October at 7.30pm. If you are a keen mountain biker like me, or even a freerider (I am not there yet), you might know the ongoing argument about who owns the forest. Pedal Driven is a bikumentary that digs deeper into the issue, following freeriders in Washington always on the lookout for rangers threatening their trails. The film will give a good insight into both sides and their arguments and take you behind this confrontation, trying to offer a solution how opposing fractions can find common ground in the defence of the beauty of hills and forests. Knowing from experience how difficult that or any consensus can be when it comes to mountain biking, I am interested in the answers the film might have, as the trailer ends with a pretty bold statement: more than a movie, a movement. I am keen to find out myself, and the take the mountain bike out for a ride! Read more of this post

Can’t wait for “Seasonal” – creative dance workshop to start! – this will be a fun hour each session for the children to unleash their creativity through dance!

Working with Rosina will be a blast – lots of fun and heaps of energy! This week will be a great opportunity for the children to work alongside not only Rosina Bonsu but other dancers from Reid Kerr College. This workshop was inspired to begin with by the treehouse garden project. For anyone who doesn’t know the treehouse garden is a small space below the treehouse window which with help from treehouse staff, children and a green fingered macrobert duty manager was transformed into a great quiet, peaceful, tidy and nurtured space where the children from treehouse regularly plant and grow!
When the “insert title” project was launched treehouse staff jumped at the opportunity to work with Rosina – having worked together in the past we knew any children involved in any of her workshops would have an exciting fun time learning from one of the best! “Seasonal” will incorporate music from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and will capture the children’s imagination and creative ideas for dance and movement. Roll on Tuesday 26th July!

Refugee Week is a unique opportunity to discover and celebrate the contributions refugees bring to the UK. During the week of the 20th June, macrobert will be hosting a range of events to celebrate Refugee Week.

Our week of events will be titled We Are Ulysses, which is taken from a psychological condition called ‘Ulysses Syndrome’, an illness that inflicts some immigrants and refugees when they live separated from their loved ones in faraway lands. The name of the condition is, moreover, inspired by Homer’s The Odyssey and the epic journey that Ulysses endured before returning home after 10 years of war.

The We Are Ulysses name reflects the capacity for empathy that human beings are capable of when aware of other people’s sufferings. As part of this week we will be hosting the following events:

Lindsay Docherty will be showing her exhibition Highrise, a collection of dramatic black and White prints documenting the lives of Glasgow’s high rise residents. Lindsay Docherty spent time within the flats getting to know the residents and capturing what they felt out living there. A documentary project that allows the viewer to look within these daunting buildings. Monday 20th – Friday 26 June, free admission

Our treehouse is making food from different parts of the country, Monday the children in treehouse got help from our Chef Nayana to make Sri Lankan Fish Cakes and on Friday Nayana will be showing the childrne in treehouse how to make food from Mexico. The children in treehouse will also be exploring the different cultures of Mexico through a variety of methods. Please call our boxoffice to book your children’s place on treehouse for Friday 24th June 01786 466666

Our playhouse will see a very special take to the stage plus a fab performance of I’m Ready by Fraser Morrison and Ignote Theatre will be bring their production of True Colours which explores teh different worls we live in and what happens when the collide. All take place between 1pm and 4pm Sunday 26th June. Tickets are free for all events and offered on a first come first served basis.

Our cafebar will be serving foods from different continents each day, we have Sri Lankan Tuna Fishcakes, Falafel, Smoked Mackarel and Chorizo Salad plus Quesadillas, Swedish Lamb Meatballs, Curries, Mousacca and much more… check out what is being served in our cafebar each day.

For all enquiries and to book your tickets please call our boxoffice on 01786 466666.

The lovely people at Stirling University gave our treehouse a fab little plot of land at the back of the building and we have eventually managed to get it all dug up, planted and looking just braw, with the help of a few little ones ofcourse!

Our treehouse will be making sure that the plants are watered, fed and kept happy and the children in the treehouse will be able to help with their little watering cans as our treehouse staff will take them out, help the kids water the plants and let them watch over time as their little plants turn bloom into beautiful, colourful flowers.